The New Girl
by miss-eileen310
Summary: A new girl comes to Plumfield, and Dan is smitten. Meanwhile, Jo and Nick work through their feelings. COMPLETE!
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters! Except Hazel!  
R&R thanks!  
  
THE NEW GIRL  
  
by Eileen Smith  
  
"So Meg, what do you think?" Mrs. Jo asked.  
"I don't know what to say, Jo. Another girl at Plumfield? This was originally a boys school, and most schools nowadays are not coed," Meg replied. "With Nan and Bess you already have your hands full." "I know," sighed Jo. "But it is so hard to refuse once you get someone. She comes from a private school in upper Connecticut, and apparently her guardians took her out of the school for reasons they would not tell me. She doesn't live with her family, and any child who doesnt live with their family, I yearn to give them one."  
  
"Oh Jo, it's that good nature that comes from Mother and Father in you," laughed Meg. "All right, I guess it won't be as bad as I think, especially since Bess will be leaving soon."  
"Amy apparently decided that Bess needed to have more training in the arts." Jo frowned. "She's having a private tutor come to their house and teach Bess. "  
  
"Not a bad idea when you have one as talented and as dedicated as Bess," Meg said. "Now, what did you say this girl's name was?"  
  
"Hazel," Jo replied. "Hazel Moore." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	2. Chapter2

"Boys! Nan! Come here please!" Mrs. Jo called from the front porch a week later. "Your new classmate is here!"As the children came down, a small buggy carrying an old man and a young girl drove up to the school. Dressed in an old yellow dress, the brown haired, light eyed girl stepped down from the buggy herself, ignoring the efforts of the old man trying to help her down. She then proceeded to take her bags, and walked boldly up to Jo.  
  
"Hi, Mrs. Bhaer," Hazel said, smiling. "I'm Hazel Moore. I hope you don't mind me bein' here, on such short notice and all that."  
  
"Oh Hazel, its lovely to have you," Jo said warmly. "And please, call me Mrs. Jo. I suppose you want to be introduced to your new friends. Our only girl here is Nan. The boys, in order, are Dan, Nat, Emil, Tommy and Rob, my son. My sister Meg and her twins Demi and Daisy, our cook Asia, your teacher Franz, and our handyman Nick."  
  
"Hi, everybody," Hazel replied cheerfully to the 'how do you do's' and 'hellos'. "I'm really glad to be here."  
"Hazel, you'll be sharing a room with Nan," Asia said, smiling at the sweet girl. "Here, we'll help you unpack and get settled in before we have dinner." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	3. Chapter 3

That night at dinner, Hazel did not talk much, only to answer questions. She seemed like a shy, very sweet girl, and she reminded Jo very much of her sister Beth. By the end of the night, every boy in the house had told Jo privately that they really liked Hazel, and Nan had been running all over the house, showing her all the rooms. Everyone seemed cheered to have such a sweet, quiet presence in the house.  
"Well," Jo said later that night to Nick. "I feel that my little gamble here turned out quite well." "You never know," grunted Nick as he pitched a forkful of straw into Pennys stall. "She could be an entirely different person in the classroom, or doing her chores."  
  
"Oh, Nick, a girl like that? She seems only to want to please everyone," Jo retorted. Nick rolled his eyes. "Jo, I have plenty of work to do, and I don't have time to argue with you about this girl."  
  
Jo glared at him. "Fine, Nick. If you are afraid of a little confrontation, I will leave."  
Nick looked on helplessly as Jo stalks off. "Aw, Jo, common now, I was just kidding with you! I just didn't feel like arguing..... I mean not with a lady and all....."  
  
But it was too late. Nick sighed as he watched Jo go into the house. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	4. Chapter 4

Hazel grinned as she watched the horses cantering around in the paddock. She had a love for animals, and especially loved horses. Dan watched her as her bright eyes followed Pennys every movement as she moved across the field.  
"You like horses?" Dan asked, breaking the silence between them.  
"I love them," Hazel breathed. "They're so free, and so beautiful. I've always wanted one." Her eyes fell to the ground when she saw that Dan was hanging onto her every word. His eyes moved quickly away too, but not after she had seen him look at her.  
"Well, um, I could ask Mrs. Jo and Nick if your chores could be helping me take care of them," Dan said shyly. "If they haven't told you, everyone has special chores here. I help take care of the horses, feeding them and grooming them."  
  
Hazel smiled. "I'd like that a lot, Dan. Thanks."  
As she walked away, Dan looked after her. He could not understand what it was that drew him to her. Why, Bess had just left a few days ago! Although Bess, with the blond curls and blue eyes was pretty in a refined way, Hazel was beautiful in a wild way. Her brown hair was usually kept in two braids, although for dinner she kept it down. Her eyes were like her name, a light brown, or hazel color. She was quiet and smart, and was in one way like Dan himself---no one knew much of her story yet.  
"Hey, Nick," Dan called, breaking himself out of his thoughts as he saw Nick walk by. "I was just talking to Hazel, and I was wonderin' if, for her chores, she could help me out with the horses."  
Nick grinned. "Sure, as long as it's fine with Mrs. Jo. She might want another helper in the house." Thinking about it, he grinned devishly. "As a matter of fact, I'll ask her myself, tonight."  
"Thanks, Nick!" Dan said, smiling. "I really appreciate it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	5. Chapter 5

The next afternoon, Jo informed Hazel that she could begin her new chore of taking care of the horses after school was out. Already excited, Hazel ran to the barn after her classes and burst in as Nick was cleaning Mrs. Jo's saddle.  
  
"Hey, Nick! I'm ready! So, what do you want me to do first -- brush the horses, feed them? I'm ready!" Nick looked up, startled at the girl's outburst. He thought a little bit before answering:  
"Well, I'll have Dan show you what to do when he gets here. He probably has more experience taking care of these horses than I do," Nick said, winking.  
As Hazel agreed, Dan walked in, and looked a little startled by the girl's appearance as well.  
"Hey, Hazel. I guess Mrs. Jo said that you could work out here with me," Dan said, looking over at Nick who looked pleased with himself. "Wanna get started?"  
"Yes, I'm ready! What do you want to have me do?" asked Hazel willingly.  
As Dan and Hazel walk out the door with Dan explaining to Hazel how to brush a horse properly, Jo came in and surveyed the scene. She looked at Nick who was watching them with a smile on his face. "Nick," Jo said, breaking him out of his reverie. "What are you smiling about?"  
"Oh, I was just thinking," Nick replied, blushing a little. "Dan and Hazel look like they'd make great friends. They both love the horses."  
"Well then," sighed Jo, sitting down on a hay bale, "maybe he can get her to talk a little. No one so far has gotten any of her life story out of her. It's frustrating, especially since I don't know what to do with her." "What do you mean?" asked Nick, looking over at her, puzzled.  
"I don't know whether to treat her like a daughter or like another student. It's very different, you know. With Bess, she already had parents that loved her, so all I had to do was give her friends to play with and a good example of my own. With Nan, it is totally different. I am like a mother in her eyes, because she has no mother. I don't know which way to treat Hazel."  
  
Nick looked over at Jo, as she sat there watching Dan and Hazel together. He was suddenly struck by how much she worried about the children of the school, and never had much time to think about herself.  
"Jo, I think you worry too much," Nick said abruptly, standing up. "You need to take some time off. Think about something else for a few minutes, at least."  
He walked over to her and took her arm. "Remember before, when we both said we felt something between us?" Ignoring the resistance he saw in her eyes, he went on. "I want to feel that between us. Jo, I've never felt this way about a woman before. I want to feel it."  
Jo looked up at him, seeing the love in his eyes. All of a sudden she thought of her husband Fritz. Nick was right about one thing. She had not thought about herself and only worried about the children; however, it was because of his passing that she buried herself in their problems. She was suddenly afraid. Afraid of getting into something with Nick too soon after Fritzs death. Afraid that she would lose the children through Nick, and even her sisters love for her. Pulling away from his grasp, she walked out of the barn and into the bright sunshine, while Nick was left behind, wondering what he had said to make her leave. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	6. Chapter 6

After her first day of her new chore, Hazel sat down contentedly. She had brushed and fed the animals, cleaned out stalls, and set the horses out to pasture, with Dan helping her along the way. She had learned all about each individual Plumfield horse, their likes and dislikes, where they liked to be petted, and so on. Dan threw the brush down into the tack box and sat next to Hazel on the hay bale. "So, Hazel," Dan said, clearing his throat nervously. "Why'd you come to Plumfield?"  
Hazel chewed on her lip worriedly. This was the question that she had been dreading the most once she had found out what everyone was like here. "Well, um, ah, um..." She trailed off as she saw Dan looking at her intently. "Well, it may seem... stupid.... but I got kicked out of the last two schools I was at." She looked down.  
  
Dan was taken aback when he heard this. A girl getting kicked out of school? "What did you do?"  
"I, well, um, sort of disrupted everyones way of life there..... I just didn't fit in. They wanted me to be too perfect," Hazel said, coughing to try and cover her embarrassment.  
Dan smiled, and, feeling bold, reached over to pat her arm, sensing her embarrassment. "Its OK. Nobody's going to kick you out of Plumfield, not if Mrs. Jo has anything to do with it!"  
Hazel smiled. "That's a relief!" she replied, laughing, as she pulled Dan along with her to go in and wash up for supper. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ 


	7. Chapter 7

The next night Mrs. Jo was in her study, going over some paperwork that she had kept untouched for the last few days. She sighed as she looked at it.  
  
"I can't do this," she said finally, throwing the papers down in disgust. She turned her attention to the sound of Nats fiddle playing for the boys upstairs. As she leaned back, she thought of Hazel. She still hadnt talked to her yet about her family. Thinking twice, she called for Dan.  
"Yes, Mrs. Jo?" Dan said when he came into the study. "Is something wrong?"  
"No, Dan, nothing's wrong. Well, not really," Jo replied. "I know that Hazel has been helping you out in the barn for her chores. I was wondering, do you know much about her? Her past, her family, anything?" Dan shifted uncomfortably. He didn't know how Hazel's story was going to affect Mrs. Jo, but he had to tell her. "Well, I was talkin' with her the other day, Mrs. Jo. She told me the reason she came to Plumfield was because, well, she sorta got kicked outta the other two schools she was at. She didn't tell me any more." Jo looked at Dan incredulously. She was shocked. A girl, getting kicked out of school? The way that Hazel had portrayed herself so far at Plumfield did not suggest any kind of that behavior. "That's all she told you?"  
  
Dan nodded apologetically. "She seems pretty drawn back when I talked to her about it, like she just wants to forget it all."  
  
Jo nodded. "OK, Dan, thank you. Now, go get ready for bed."  
As Dan nodded and started to head upstairs, Jo turned around and saw her daily devotions book lying open. She grabbed it and inspired, started to write furiously. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ 


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, when the children were in classes with Franz, Jo wandered down to the barn to visit Penny. When she got there, Nick was in her stall, brushing her. "I'll take over that if you want," Jo said eagerly.  
  
Startled by her voice, Nick nodded. He didnt say anything as Jo started brushing her horse, even when she looked at him, imploring him to speak. After a few minutes, he did. "How are ya doin' today?"  
Jo restrained herself from sighing with disappointment. "I'm good, Nick, but I think we need to talk." "'Bout what?"  
  
"About us," Jo said, to Nicks dismay. "I've been thinking, and..."  
"I know, Jo," Nick said abruptly. "I don't want people to start talkin. I dunno if the kids themselves will even like the idea of, well, us. And the folks in town, and your sisters and family.... I don't want them to think that ya' are goin' after me. Not me, and not so soon after your husband's death and all." Jo looked at him, startled. "Nick, that wasn't what I was going to say at all." Nick looked at her, dubious. "I was going to say that we can't hold back any feelings that we have for each other from anybody." The stall door slammed as Nick, who had been holding onto it, let it go. The look on his face was something that Jo had never seen before. It was a look of confusion, and also something that she had never seen in Nick's eyes before. It was love.  
  
"I... I... I dunno Jo," Nick stuttered. "I mean, well, I just thought that you never wanted me because you always hold back. Im just an old sailor and handyman around here. Why would you want me?" "Because I love you," Jo answered, stepping towards him. "You are the only person in my life who has looked at me with love in your eyes. Even Fritz and I never really had that. We just married, well, maybe out of necessity. But you have everything that I have ever wanted."  
Jo and Nick stood close to each other, looking into their love-filled eyes. After a few moments, Nick drew Jo near to him as they embraced and kissed for the very first time. Â  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ 


	9. Chapter 9

"No Dan, no!" screamed Rob. The whole school was down at the pond, and the children were swimming. Since Rob was the youngest, everyone liked to pick on him, and this time Dan had decided to throw water on him.  
  
"What, Rob, are you a sissy?" Dan laughed back.  
"MOMMA!" Rob yelled.  
"Dan, please stop picking on him," Hazel said suddenly. She had been swimming and had come up suddenly from under the water between Rob and Dan. Dan stared at her, while Rob clung to her. "Yeah, Dan, stop picking on me!" Rob yelled.  
"Hey, buddy, why don't you go and see your ma. She looks pretty lonely over there," Dan said, pointing to Jo.  
  
"OK," Rob sighed, jumped off of Hazel, and swam over to his mother.  
"Thanks, for, uh, breakin' that up," Dan said, looking at Hazel. "It might've gotten ugly." He winked at her. "Riiiight, Dan," Hazel replied. She dove down underneath the water again and swam away.  
"So, Dan, not havin' much luck, eh?" Nick said from behind Dan. "Luck? Wi-with what?" Dan stuttered.  
  
"Oh, come on, Dan. It's pretty obvious, at least ta me, that you're looking to be with her, huh?" Nick said, winking.  
  
"Oh, fine, Nick, you're right," Dan said, and sighed as he sat down on a rock. "I just don't know what to do, or what to say to her."  
  
"Take it from me, son," Nick replied. "Just go with what they say. If she wants to talk, let her. If she won't, don't push it, but bring it up lightly. Ya know."  
  
"Thanks for the help, Nick," Dan said, brushing his hair out of his face. "I hope it's gonna work." "Oh, it will, I guarantee it. It's worked for me," Nick said, smiling in Jo's direction before heading over there, leaving Dan puzzling over what he had just said. Â  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	10. Chapter 10

"I can't do this!" Hazel yelled, slamming the papers down. "I really don't get math." "Calm down, Haz," Dan said, looking down at the papers, where there was a mess of numbers, letters, and drawings of horses in the margins. "You just need to stop doodling and focus." "Oh, and what would you know, Dan?" Hazel demanded. "I know you have trouble with your math too." Dan glared at her. "Well, at least I don't throw a hissy fit about what I can and can't do!"  
"I do NOT throw hissy fits!" Hazel yelled, stamping on the ground.  
Dan laughed. "Ya, and what was that?"  
  
"Oh, shut up Dan," Hazel sighed. She returned back to her work, smoothing out the wrinkles in the paper. I don't know what I'm doing this, she thought. iHe's so nice to me and puts up with me all the time. And now I'm barely giving him the light of day. What is wrong with me?/I  
"So, uh, Haz," Dan asked, looking up bashfully over his book.  
  
"Ya, Dan?" Hazel said hopefully, looking up to him with her beautiful hazel eyes. "Um, I was wondering, um," Dan stopped when he noticed that Hazel was hanging on to his every word. "Um, are we friends now? I'm sorry about what I just said."  
  
"Oh. Um, ya, of course. Friends." Hazel said, sticking out her hand.  
"Great. Friends." Dan said, taking her hand in his. But instead of shaking it, they both sat there, looking at each other's hands. Dan's strong and dark hand was squeezing Hazel's small, light hand. After a few moments, Dan snatched his hand away and quickly smiled at Hazel, then he went back to work.  
II can't believe this boy/I, Hazel thought, her face bright red as she thought about what had just happened. IIs something wrong with me?/I  
  
Dan pretended to be studying his book. As he looked up, he saw Hazel staring at him, her face very confused. Sighing, he put the book down.  
  
"Haz, I have something to say," Dan said nervously. He paused for a moment.  
"Yes?" Hazel said impatiently.  
  
"Well, um, I've been thinking, and I know we haven't known each other for long, but we have so much in common. Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is - well, I really like you, Haz. You're smart, caring, and beau-beau-beautiful," Dan stammered out. He blushed after he realized that he had said she was beautiful. But he had meant it, really and truly.  
  
"Really, Dan?" Hazel asked breathlessly. "Well, I really like you too. I was hoping that you would feel the same way."  
  
Dan moved in closer to Hazel. "I do, I really do."  
  
Hazel took his hand and squeezed it. She moved in closer to him, and they both kissed for the very first time. After a minute, she pulled away and smiled at him. "I'm so glad I came here, Dan."  
"I'm so glad too," Dan whispered, as they both snuggled up against one another. "Who would've thought," Mrs. Jo said to Nick, from where she was watching from the window. "I guess 'the new girl' is not so new anymore."  
  
"I guess not," Nick said, as they stood together and slowly turned away to watch the sun setting on the cool fall afternoon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ END  
A/N: hope everyone liked it! I'll be writing a sequel if anyone wants me too… so R&R people! Thanks! 


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